Moore Twp. Zoners Deny Man's Appeal Of Wood-cutting Ban

The Moore Township Zoning Hearing Board last night denied an appeal by Joseph Mirro of Bath to cut, store and sell wood from a property on Copella Road.

The decision was reached by Robert Becker and Pearce Gray. The third board member, Robert Wetzel, was not present.

The decision followed 3 1/2 hours of testimony and cross-examination. During the public comment part of the hearing, about a dozen area residents spoke against the operation, citing noise, traffic and possible harm to the conservation district.

"The wood-cutting operation would destroy a unique quality of the area," said Nancy Kavallo, a 17-year resident of 1091 Copella Road. Her property is 250 feet from the Mirro tract of about 11 acres.

"Plants grow quietly; chain saws make noise," said Gary Hoskins of 1113 Copella Road. His wife Linda said that on May 7, when Mirro began cutting, "his chain saw sounded like it was in my back door."

It was the May 7 start of wood cutting operations that led residents to complain to the township, after which a cease-and-desist order was issued to Mirro by Zoning Officer J. Henry Unger. The zoning board upheld Unger's cease- and-desist order and denied Mirro a special exception for continued operation.

Mirro's lawyer, Ronald Lucas of Harrisburg, said the validity of the township zoning ordinance will be challenged and a hearing will be set up before the zoning board on this issue. He said that, by turning down the special exception, the board denied Mirro a constitutional right, since a wood-cutting operation was not specifically excluded from the conservation district.

Judy Scheks of 1026 Copella Road was subpoenaed to testify about what she experienced in May when Mirro cut wood on the property nearher. She spoke of seeing an 18-wheel truck driving to and from Mirro's property, and of the noise which kept her from sleeping during the day. Scheks presented a petition bearing more than 60 signatures of nearby residents asking the board to deny the special exception.

Nina Malsch, who sold the Copella Road property to Mirro, testified about the sequence of events from the first agreement of sale with Mirro until the sale of the property in December 1984. She said she tried to give Mirro his down payment back when he did not receive a permit for the logging operation.

"We wanted out of it (the sale)," she said, because Mirro would not pay the balance as he did not get his permit. Eventually, the transaction was completed.

Attorney William Ross, in cross-examining Mirro, attempted to establish the sequence of events regarding the sale of the Copella Road property and applications for a wood-cutting permit. Ross said the sequence was crucial, apparently because it might become an issue in the matter of intent should the case be appealed to Northampton County Court. Mirro contended the wood he cut on May 7 was for himself and for gifts. Others maintained the quantity he cut, about 15 cords, was for commercial purposes.

Ross also noted Mirro did not appeal the denial of his application to cut wood within the required time.

In addition, township Supervisor Rodney Jarinko was asked to testify about Ross's role in the hearing. Mirro's other lawyer, Gary Asteak, and Lucas, attempted to show that Ross should not represent the township to oppose their client's appeal.

The attorneys objected to Ross' cross-examination of Mirro because they said Ross is not specifically authorized by the township supervisors to oppose Mirro's special-exception request. Jarinko, also township secretary, was asked to testify to what was said at the supervisors' May and June meetings about what Ross' part in the hearing would be.

Ross maintained that he represented the township and Unger, and the objections by Mirro's attorneys were irrelevant. No decision on this point was given. The objection and response were noted in the transcript. Zoning board solicitor Wesley Wasylyk, who ran the hearing, did not deny Ross' opportunity to cross-examine.